Appreciation
by IzumiTheMoogle
Summary: A few hours before the StrawHats are to leave Thriller Bark, Zoro decides to take a walk… So, of course his new ‘shadow’ named Chopper is coming along for just in case. -Zoro/Chopper Nakamaship


**~Appreciation~**

**Summary: **_A few hours before the StrawHats are to leave Thriller Bark, Zoro decides to take a walk… So, of course his new 'shadow' named Chopper is coming along. _

**Note: **I got this idea quite randomly a few minutes before writing this intro and REALLY wanted to write it. I know there are other projects I should be working on right now… (cough cough, "Cursed", cough) But my Zoro/Chopper Nakamaship fangirl-ness just can't be helped. XD

I hope you all enjoy this little piece of Nakamaship fluff! :]

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Heart rate: Normal

Temperature: Normal; no fever

Inner Ear: Intact somehow even after the massive blood loss

Blood Pressure: Semi-high. Must remember that patient is _not _a normalhuman.

Reflexes: Ridiculously excellent

Throat: Normal; no discoloration or swelling

Wounds: Sewn up and cleaned out to prevent infection.

Bandages: After much struggle, still in place.

…………………….

And the list went on. Chopper had to flip through several pages on his clipboard before getting through everything. Zoro sat slumped over on the table holding his head with a hand, looking not the least bit interested in what his Nakama was doing and quite annoyed with the lengthiness of it as Chopper scoured him over.

It had been only three hours since Zoro had woken up, and yet Chopper had managed to do this same examination at least four times. The swordsman- quite bluntly –didn't see what the fuss was all about. He was fine, able to walk around, lift things (which was good for him. He would start working out the minute they boarded the Sunny again), and was even nice enough to keep his bandages on.

So why was Chopper so freakin' persistent with these ridiculous inspections? It was like whenever Zoro did something that might require just a _tiny _bit of effort, Chopper would start flailing around and immediately demand that Zoro sit down so that he could be checked on.

It was mind-numbing for the Pirate Hunter to be sitting down for that long unless he was taking a nap… He had been taking one too! For two days apparently. And Chopper should've known better than anyone- since he was the ship's doctor –that Zoro could sleep practically anything off.

And two days? Pfft. That was way long enough.

Though Zoro was actually semi-surprised he survived the whole ordeal with Kuma… His eyes narrowed at the thought of that man. Shortly, memories of what had happened two days prior with the Shichibukai came back into Zoro's mind and the hand that held his head tightened in anger.

Coincidentally, Chopper had been tapering a bandage when this happened and- at seeing the swordsman clutch the side of his head tighter –he immediately backed off with a worried expression, concerned that he had tied something too tight.

It took Zoro a second to realize the look the reindeer was giving him before he quickly sat all the way up and shook his head, "It's fine."

Chopper hesitantly began checking his Nakama's other bandages, being just slightly less forceful if he was to tighten one. Zoro chuckled mentally at how easy it was to get the reindeer all riled up over the smallest things…

Chopper let out a short breath after he finished with Zoro's bandages and quickly glanced at his clipboard once before looking up at the patient in question, "Okay Zoro… You seem to be doing alright so far. Just don't--"

"'Don't take off your bandages'. I know, I know…" Zoro sighed, standing up and stretching his arms and cracking his neck, "Chopper, nothing has changed since thirty minutes ago when you checked me last," He said in mild annoyance. Chopper's brow furrowed. Obviously Zoro wasn't taking into account how serious his injuries were.

_Like always._

Maybe that was a sign that he was getting better though… But then again, he still hadn't taken off his bandages… Which was odd. Chopper only nagged him about it a few times, and there was only a short fighting period… He thought briefly about checking his friend's temperature again. Maybe he was hallucinating.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. He didn't like the look Chopper was giving him. It was the one he always got when he wanted to 'check something out' in terms of Zoro's wounds. And it usually meant more time wasted for the swordsman too…

So, before the reindeer could launch another series of tests on him, Zoro shoved his hands on his pockets and strolled outside of the Mansion. Chopper immediately started waving his arms around:

"W-Wait! Zoro! Where are you going?!"

Zoro glanced over his shoulder briefly, "On a walk. Sleeping on that damn table for two days got me really stiff."

With the pitter-patter sound of footsteps that were characteristically Chopper's, Zoro reached the conclusion that he would becoming along on his walk… The man sighed. He had hoped to get away from the nagging doctor.

"Why are you coming??"

"You'll get lost," Chopper said, looking up at Zoro earnestly, hooves holding onto the straps of the small blue backpack on his shoulders.

Zoro gritted his teeth in anger, a vein shortly popping out of his forehead, "Will not!" He growled.

Chopper looked ahead of them sternly, "I'm coming with you anyway… So you won't take your bandages off."

"_Damn,_" Zoro cursed to himself, jutting his lower lip out a little. That was exactly what he intended to do once he was out of Chopper's sight… But he guessed it was all water under the bridge now. That doctor was like his shadow all of a sudden. He sighed, "Fine…"

Zoro and Chopper started walking over and around all of the rubble outside of the Mansion, passing by crewmates and some of the other pirates that they had saved from eternal darkness on Thriller Bark. Most all of the StrawHats stopped to greet Zoro, since he really hadn't been up and walking around outside since he woke up. (Chopper had him practically tied down inside with examinations)

"It's good to see you up and around, Swordsman-san," Robin greeted cordially, smiling at Zoro and Chopper as they came to pass her standing by the Sunny.

Zoro nodded, glancing up at the ship and then back down at her, "Do you know how long 'til we leave?"

Robin put a hand to her chin in thought for a moment, "I believe Navigator-san said that we would be setting sail anywhere from two to four hours from now."

"Good. Gives us plenty of time then," Zoro noted, stretching his arms out again.

"Time?" Robin questioned.

"For a walk," Chopper said innocently from the side.

"You and Doctor-san are going on a walk, Swordsman-san?" She smiled, "How cute."

Zoro crossed his arms with a huff, obviously irritated and just a tad bit pink. This woman always knew just how to get on his nerves… Maybe she took lessons from the cook, "I _wanted_ to go by myself," He grunted.

"I told you it was for your own good!" Chopper said, trying to sound as serious as he could without getting angry at Zoro's stubbornness. Robin giggled.

"Sounds like fun."

Zoro pivoted around with a slight scoff, leaving the Sunny in a hurried walk. Chopper quickly followed, turning around to wave at Robin, "We'll be back soon, Robin!"

Zoro slowed his pace down just slightly after they had gotten around the edge of the Mansion and were about to enter the woods. Chopper stood by him like they were handcuffed together. The two didn't talk much at all. Sometimes Chopper would point out places where he, Usopp, and Nami had been running when they all first arrived, with Zoro nodding or giving one-word answers to everything.

He was hard to make conversation with.

But then again, Chopper really didn't know what to say. The only eye contact they made was when Zoro caught one of the reindeer's many glances up at him.

Zoro was glad that he was able to take a walk before they took off on the Sunny. Who knew when they would get to the next island? And there wasn't much room for walking on that ship; especially when the Captain was up to his usual antics.

He was confused and slightly annoyed when he caught Chopper staring at him. He could tell the doctor tried his best to look away in time, but sadly, even when badly injured, Zoro's reflexes were better. His brow cocked up:

"Something… Wrong, Chopper?"

"N-No… It's nothing," He said, looking down at the dirt path they were walking on with a bead of sweat running down his face. Unluckily for him, Zoro wasn't as big of an idiot as everyone thought.

"Yeah right," He scoffed, "Then why were you staring at me like that? Are you afraid my wounds are just gonna rip back open?"

Chopper slightly cringed at the sentence, but then hunched his shoulders a little and tightened his grip on his backpack straps, "… I'm just worried… That's all…" He said, just loud enough so that he could be heard by his companion.

"Worried?" Zoro questioned, "You know that I'm fine now. You were the one who treated my wounds, you know, so you should know that," He said it nonchalantly.

"I know, I do…" Chopper mumbled nervously, "But… You were really hurt and I was really scared for a little while."

"Chopper…" Zoro sighed, saying the same thing a second time, "I'm fine now. Don't worry."

"B-But anything could happen!" He began to wave his arms around, "Even out here! A-And what'll we do if something attacks and your wounds open--"

_CRACK!_

A loud cracking sound came from their left, sending Chopper wailing and flying to the side in blind fear and apprehension. Zoro was the only one of the two to realize that what they just heard was a tree branch snapping off. Chopper went soaring into the group of trees to Zoro's right, landing on the tips of some misplaced rocks before hitting the ground.

"O-owwww…." He whined as he hoisted himself to his backside with a wince. He was covered in scratches now. Zoro sighed, shaking his head:

"Oh yeah. And you're worried about _me_?"

"S-Shut up! Ow!" Chopper yelled and then quickly grabbed his left arm, some blood trickling through the cracks in his hoof. He whimpered slightly. Zoro's brow furrowed a little. He knelt down by Chopper, sighing again:

"Jeez… What did you do?" He said in a semi-annoyed tone.

"I-I couldn't help it!" Chopper wailed, little tears in his eyes. Zoro moved to his Nakama's back, opening his backpack and sifting through it, "W-What are you--"

"You have bandages in here, don't you?" Zoro said, pulling a roll of them out seconds after. He moved back to face Chopper, beginning to tear some off, "Hold still."

"H-Huh?" Chopper's eyes widened a little, "B-But I--"

"Just hush up and hold out your arm, alright?" Zoro said, keeping his voice level. Chopper was surprised by how calm he sounded… But even weirder was the fact that he, _Zoro_ was bandaging _Chopper. _He was too shocked to do anything but comply with his demand, holding out the arm that had a gash in it.

Zoro tore a long roll of the tape off, wrapping it quickly but efficiently around Chopper's arms and tying it tight with his teeth in a perfect knot. He stuffed the tape back in the doctor's backpack soon after. Chopper stared at his, now bandaged, arm in almost awe. He looked up at Zoro with wide eyes.

"Be careful, alright?" Zoro said, "Don't know what we're gonna do if our _doctor _gets himself injured."

"Z-Zoro…" Chopper stammered, "You tied it… Really well. Have you ever--"

"Nope," He shook his head, already knowing what his friend was going to ask, "Never tied one of those things before."

"T-Then how did you do this one so well?!" The reindeer was baffled.

Zoro shrugged, "Well, I must've seen you do it at least twenty times before when you're treating my injuries," By the look on Chopper's face, Zoro could tell he didn't think he'd be paying attention at all, "I'm not stupid, you know," He added.

Chopper looked down at his arm again. Zoro learned by watching _him_? But he always looked so bored an unfocused whenever Chopper was putting any bandages on him! He was actually paying attention?? And well enough to be able to do this well on his first try? It didn't seem like a big feat, but it took tons of practice to get the bandages' tightness just right! Zoro did it just like that!

"W-Why did- How did- you could--" He stammered, trying to find the words for the question he wanted to ask. Somehow, accepting that Zoro could actually tie bandages was hard to do. And why would he do it _for_ Chopper? He was a doctor; he could do it himself.

"You were bleeding," The swordsman said simply, as if reading the animal's mind. He stood up, "We'd better get moving. I want to walk more before going back to the Sunny," He glanced back down at Chopper, "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah!" He stammered, standing up and quickly trotting over to Zoro as he started to press forward again. After a minute or two of silence, Chopper looked up at the green-haired man, "Ne, Zoro."

"Hm?"

"How did you learn how to do that so well so fast?"

The man shrugged, "I dunno. Guess I'm just a fast learner."

Chopper's eyes widened in wonder, like Usopp had just told him another one of his ridiculous lies. Zoro really was amazing. There seemed to be no limit to what he could do, for himself or for his friends. They were lucky to have him with them.

Suddenly, Chopper's gaze snapped back down to the ground. Something had just dawned on him… It was something that he forgot to do earlier. In fact, it was something that nobody in the crew really did in regards to Zoro. And he hadn't noticed it until now.

_I really should say it more often…_

"Ne, Zoro."

"Hm?"

"Thank you," Chopper smiled and grabbed on to Zoro's hand.

Zoro was surprised at first, but then gave a rare full smile down at the crewmate he protected like a little brother, squeezing his hoof a little, "Don't mention it."

_... Because we really are lucky to have him with us._ .

**Author's Note: **

**Uwa! Drowning in the Zoro and Chopper Nakamaship fluffiness!! XD Aah, but I do love it. :] **

**NO YAOI WAS INTENDED FOR THIS STORY! PURE NAKAMASHIP! Just wanted to get that across. XP **

**Zoro really is underappreciated in the crew. I mean, I know that everyone appreciates what he does, but no one ever says "Thanks"! O.O Anyway, I just thought I'd add that in, because we all know that the crew loves their Zoro-kun! w **

**Thank you for reading and reviewing!**


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